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WADIT Sheet Pile Cofferdam

Civil engineers started out using WADIT mainly for sheet and pipe pile wall constructions for cofferdams, dams, and cutoff walls at environmental remediation sites. However, port construction engineers in Germany soon realised the sealant was ideally suited for the Bremerhaven container port expansion in particular, because of its following properties:

1. Water pressure resistance.

The sealant has been laboratory tested to withstand five bars (~70 psi) of differential water pressure, in various types of sheet pile interlocks. This means it will remain in place and be functional with more than 130 feet of head water pressure against it.

2. Optimal flexibility.

The sealant remains extremely flexible even in ground water, or in similar cool and cold environments like Bremerhaven. It is materially flexible enough that it will not break out of the interlock after the sheet pile walls are inserted (paired), which is a leading cause of leakage in other sealant brands, especially by shore water attack. Even in low water temperatures such as Bremerhaven Port, its unique ‘memory effect’ guarantees excellent sealant behavior, even in the event of torsion and other movement in the sheet pile wall interlock.

3. Environmentally friendly.

It is non-toxic and is made from sustainable natural raw materials – essential in Germany today. ‘WADIT sealant can be used without any restrictions in sheet pile wall interlocks in ground and surface water areas... [With] no fear of harmful effects if it is used in the area of drinking water extraction systems,’ according to a report from the Institute for Environmental Geology and Contaminated Land, Nuremberg.

This article comes from porttechnology edit released